Lemon Drizzle Bake

It's time for our weekly bake and this one comes courtesy of Mary Berry's Complete Cookery Course. A lemon drizzle tray bake is a slight deviation on a classic and means that it is far easier to share or take to a local charity bake sale or similar. An instant hit, Oh Yes!

So for this recipe you will need:

• 275g self-raising flour
• 225g caster sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 225g butter or olive spread
• 4 large free range eggs
• grated zest of two lemons
• 4 tbsp milk

Plus:

• juice of two lemons & 175g caster sugar for the glaze.

Preheat the over to 180 degrees fan, or gas mark 4. Grease and line a tray approx 30 x 23cm with greaseproof parchment. I didn't have a baking tray this size so used a cast iron Le Creuset and this worked fine.

After making a mess of lining the tray (see above) weigh all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder) and place in a large bowl. Melt the butter in the microwave and mix well with a wooden spoon.

Add the four eggs and beat into the mixture until it forms a batter. It may look a mess but there are no prizes for neatness at this stage.

Once combined, add the zest of the two lemons avoiding the white bitter pith.

Mix again with a wooden spoon and add 4tbsp or 60ml of milk. I used semi-skimmed but I am sure whole milk would also work.

Mix in the milk and the batter should now feel noticeably thinner. Switch to a silicone spatular and pour the mixture into your lined tray. Take care to start slow so the greaseproof parchment does not move.

Set yourself a timer for 35 minutes and have a culpa/do the washing up while the cake cooks. Middle shelf in the oven is recommended for an even heat.

My cake took about 45 minutes in total to cook but our oven is notoriously pants and waiting to be replaced (once i've stopped spending money on handbags). Check after 35 minutes using a clean skewer and if it comes out clean, your cake it cooked.

Once out of the oven, slice the cake into portions. I went for 15, the recipe suggests it will make 16 but I made the first cut in the wrong place, so 15 it was. 

While the cake is still warm, make the glaze. Juice the two lemons that were used for zest earlier. Pour into a bowl. I then put the bowl on the scales and measured in 175g caster sugar.

Stir the sugary lemon mixture to dissolve the sugar crystals. Then spoon onto of your cake evenly so that the whole top is coated.

You may then need to find the original slices, and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Be warned though, you may find that they start disappearing from the cooling rack as the smell is amazing!

With a crumb like this Mary would be proud. I have adapted the recipe slightly to melt the butter and avoid a hand mixer...too much mess, but it still produces lovely light lemony cake.

Any requests for next week's bake? As Wimbledon is fast approaching, I'm thinking Scones!